Middlesbrough 1 Coventry 1: Frustrating for Mowbray after wanted man Emnes continues hot Boro streak

Boro dominated the first half and deservedly led through Swansea-target Marvin Emnes but Coventry battled back after the break to bundle home the equaliser 10 minutes from time.

That pushed unbeaten Boro back down to fourth on a day when they could have finished top of the pile.

“It was a chance missed today, “ said Mowbray. “We know that.

“We controlled the game for long spells and apart from their goal they didn’t have chances whereas we did. That’s the frustrating thing.”

Boro almost went ahead on eight minutes when Nicky Bailey sent Justin Hoyte down the right to slam a drive against the bar.

They went ahead on 21 minutes. A challenge on Bailey just outside the area sent the ball squirting to Barry Robson, who helped it on via a deflection to Emnes, who checked inside the last defender and fired home a low angled drive to claim his seventh goal in seven games.

Coventry almost pulled one back on 27 minutes as Roy O’Donovan flicked the ball over a defender then volleyed just over.

After a bright start to the second half, Coventry levelled on 76 minutes as Carl Ikeme punched a cross to the edge of the area where O’Donovan fired in a low shot that was blocked on the line by Stephen McManus, only to loop up kindly for Lukas Jutkiewicz to head in.

Boro piled on the pressure in the closing stages and almost snatched it in stoppage-time as Tony McMahon crossed and Faris Haroun put in a looping header that hit the angle of bar and post bounced down for Joe Murphy to gather on the line.

Middlesbrough: Ikeme, McMahon, McManus, Bates, Bennett, Hoyte (Martin 79),R Williams, Robson, Bailey, Arca (Haroun 62), Emnes. Unused substitutes: Kink, Hines, Smallwood.

Coventry City: Murphy, Christie, Cranie, Keogh, Hussey, Baker, Clingan, Bigirimana, Bell (Thomas 42), Jutkiewicz, O’Donovan. Unused substitutes: Dunn, McPake, Cameron, Eastwood.

Referee: P Tierney (Lancashire).

Man of the match: Barry Robson.